GAINESVILLE, Fla. — After opening with rounds of 3-under 67 and 5-over 75 on Saturday, freshman Sang Yi fired a team-low 3-under par 67 in Sunday’s final round to lead the LSU men’s golf team on the final day of competition at the 2009 SunTrust Gator Invitational.
Yi earned his second career Top 10 finish in five tournament appearances with the Tigers after he finished the two-day championship at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in a tie for ninth place with a 54-hole score of 1-under 209 at the par-70 layout.
The Carrollton, Texas, native helped lead the Tigers into a tie for sixth place in the final team race at 10-over 850 as the squad fired the lowest final round score in the field at 3-under 277.
“Obviously, the highlight of the event was shooting the low round of the day today,” said LSU head coach Chuck Winstead. “It was good to play a good round today and end this tournament on a positive. We had been playing fairly well heading into the event, but we had some guys who did struggle the first day getting comfortable playing in competition again.
“But to a man, they all responded today and played more of the type of golf we’re capable of. The freshman leading the charge for us today was also great to see in a tournament like this.”
Yi, who signed with the Tigers as one of the nation’s premier recruits for the Class of 2008, was a fifth-place finisher in his collegiate debut at the Gopher Invitational on Sept. 14 as the Tigers won their first of two team titles in four tournaments during the fall season. His scores of 67 in the first and final rounds of the Gator Invitational this weekend also match his career best.
Yi enjoyed a bogey-free round Sunday as opened the day by making birdie on his first hole as the Tigers teed off on the par-four 10th. He went on to birdie the par-four 16th hole and par-four fourth hole to finish the day at 3-under 67 for his final round.
Fellow freshman Josh Jones was just as impressive in the final round as he finished the week with a 2-under par round of 68 to finish in a tie for 55th place at 9-over 219.
Like Yi, Jones carded three birdies on the day to go along with one bogey to finish the final round with his lowest round of the weekend. Jones made the turn at 2-under for his round after making a birdie on the par-five 12th and par-four 14th holes before. He then traded a bogey on the par-three sixth with a birdie on the par-five seventh to finish the round with an 18-hole score of 2-under 68.
Junior Brent Blaum and sophomore Andrew Loupe each carded matching rounds of 1-over 71 on the final day of competition to give the Tigers their team total of 3-under 277. Blaum tied for 22nd place on the leaderboard with three-straight rounds of 71 for a 54-hole score of 3-over 213. Loupe finished two strokes back in a tie for 26th place with a three-round total of 5-over 215.
Sophomore John Peterson also enjoyed a solid performance during Sunday’s final round with a 2-over 72 to finish the spring opener in a tie for 50th at 8-over 218.
The 14th-ranked Florida Gators ran away with the team title as they fired a 54-hole score of 16-under 824, including a 1-under 279 in the final round. The Gators were 18 strokes clear of runner-up Ole Miss, which posted a 2-over 842 in three rounds.
Three individuals finished the afternoon tied atop the leaderboard at 5-under 205 in three rounds, and Florida standout Toby Ragland outlasted fellow Gator Billy Horschel in a seven-hole playoff for the individual title after making birdie on the seventh hole. Central Florida’s Simon Ward was eliminated from the playoff when both Ragland and Horschel made birdie on the third hole.
The Tigers will be back in action next weekend as they return to the state of Florida to compete in the John Hayt Invitational to be held Feb. 22-24 at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach.
“We have a short break before we head to Sawgrass on Friday,” Winstead said. “We’ll look to take a day off tomorrow and then continue to improve this week in practice. We’re excited about playing in another great event next week.”
SUNTRUST GATOR INVITATIONAL ? FINAL ROUND RESULTS
TEAM SCORES (Par 840)
1. Florida 269-276-279 ? 824 -16; 2. Ole Miss 274-281-287 ? 842 +2; 3. Central Florida 281-285-280 ? 846 +6; 4. Florida State 288-282-277 ? 847 +7; 5. Duke 279-284-285 ? 848 +8; T6. LSU 285-288-277 ? 850 +10; T6. Coastal Carolina 279-286-285 ? 850 +10; 8. Tennessee-Chattanooga 280-288-283 ? 851 +11; 9. North Florida 285-284-287 ? 856 +16; 10. Georgia State 286-288-284 ? 858 +18; 11. Mississippi State 290-287-289 ? 866 +26; 12 Wake Forest 288-292-287 ? 867 +27; 13. Georgia Southern 289-293-290 ? 872 +32; 14. UAB 292-296-291 ? 879 +39.
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS (Par 210)
T1. Simon Ward, Central Florida, 68-70-67 ? 205 -5; T1. Billy Horschel, Florida, 65-70-70 ? 205 -5; T1. Toby Ragland, Florida, 68-65-72 ? 205 -5; 4. Derek Rende, Tennessee-Chattanooga, 69-68-69 ? 206 -4; 5. Tim McKenney, Florida, 68-70-69 ? 207 -3; T6. Tyson Alexander, Florida, 68-71-69 ? 208 -2; T6. Sean Dale, Ole Miss, 67-70-71 ? 208 -2; T6. Jeff Dennis, North Florida, 69-70-69 ? 208 -2; T9. Sang Yi, LSU, 67-75-67 ? 209 -1; T9. T9. Mu Hu, Florida, 71-66-72 ? 209 -1; T9. Blayne Barber, Central Florida, 71-71-67 ? 209 -1; T9. Sam Lyons, Coastal Carolina, 66-70-73 ? 209 -1; T9. Drew Kittleson, Florida State, 71-70-68 ? 209 -1.
LSU SCORES
T9. Sang Yi, 67-75-67 ? 209 -1
T22. Brent Blaum 71-71-71 ? 213 +3
T26. Andrew Loupe 74-70-71 ? 215 +5
T50. John Peterson 73-73-72 ? 218 +8
T55. Josh Jones 77-74-68 ? 219 +9